Capital: Manila
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Capital: Manila Print | Close |
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Introduction The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands and has more than 85 local languages and dialects. Along with East Timor it is one of only two Christian countries in South East Asia. Between 1986 and 2001 two presidents were overthrown by "people power".
Issues
History As well as its indigenous people, the Philippines was populated about 30,000 years ago by Malays and people from Borneo and Sumatra. Chinese traders settled in the 9th century BC and Arabs arrived in the 14th century. The Philippines was colonised by Spain in the mid 16th century, the United States in the 19th century and Japan during World War II before finally gaining full independence in 1946. Since independence it has since faced a number of periods of political instability. Ferdinand Marcos was elected as president in 1965 and ruled as a virtual dictator for two decades. Elections held during this period were marred by allegations of vote rigging, charges of fraud and boycotts by the opposition. Popular dissatisfaction with the Marcos regime grew after the 1983 assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino. Marcos finally stood down in 1986, in the face of mass "people power" protests organised by the opposition leader, Corazon Aquino (the wife of Benigno) over allegations of electoral fraud. Marcos fled to Hawaii, taking $US10 billion with him. In 1998 former Philippines movie star Joseph Estrada was elected president, but within two years he was accused of taking millions of dollars in payoffs from illegal gambling, cronyism, nepotism and other fraud charges. For the second time in 15 years, thousands of Filipinos took to the streets, bringing an end to the Estrada presidency. Following fresh elections the current president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, came to power in January 2001 promising to reduce corruption and implement economic reform. She has also tried to deal with the growing problem of Muslim militancy, including the kidnapping and killing of foreigners and tourists in the country's south. A number of Islamic rebel groups have been fighting for greater autonomy for Philippine Muslims in the country's south over the past 30 years. Leading the charge have been the Abu Sayyaf group, based in Jolo, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the island of Mindanao. The MILF has been blamed for a series of bombings, and is accused of having links to the Jemaah Islamiah extremist network. In July 2003 there was an attempted military coup in Manila. A stand-off at a shopping centre in the capital lasted less than 24 hours. In June 2004 President Arroyo won a second term as president. In recent years the Philippines has topped both the United Nations' and the International Committee of the Red Cross's lists of the most disaster prone countries in the world. The lists are based on statistics showing the casualty figures from earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, floods, epidemics, drought, famines, storms, wildfires, and landslides occurring in the last 100 years. Government The 1987 constitution restored a presidential-style republican government to the Philippines. The president heads the executive branch of government and is elected for a single six year term. While the presidency commands great prestige and moral authority, there are constitutional safeguards in place to avoid a repetition of the excesses of the Marcos years (1965 to 1986), when political and economic corruption was rife. Congress cannot be abolished by the president; a two-thirds majority in the legislature can override the presidential veto; and the judiciary determines the constitutionality of presidential decrees. There are two houses of parliament in the Philippines - the 24-member Senate and the 214-member House of Representatives. Senators can serve two terms of six years, and members of the House of Representatives serve three-year terms. Additional members may be appointed to the House of Representatives by the president, but the constitution prohibits the house from having more than 250 members. The country is divided into 17 administrative regions and 79 provinces. Economy Since the Philippines gained full independence in 1946, the economy has had periods of both growth and contraction. The country has gone through a series of economic reforms to spur business growth and foreign investment, including privatisation,deregulation and tax reform. The Philippines bounced back from the Asian financial crisis of 1997, but still faces an uphill battle to attract foreign investment because of security concerns. Agriculture employs about 40 per cent of the workforce, producing crops for both domestic consumption and export. Rice and coconuts are the two largest agricultural sectors - Philippine coconuts account for nearly half the world supply. Other major crops include bananas, pineapples and mangoes. Industrial production includes iron and steel, textiles, clothing, footwear and electronics. The Philippine mining industry is based on copper, gold, nickel, silver and coal. The country benefits greatly from remittances from Filipinos working overseas, which the World Bank estimates contributed up to $US8 billion to the economy in 2004. The Arroyo Administration has promised to introduce further economic reforms including improving infrastructure; strengthening tax collection to boost government revenue; furthering deregulation and privatisation of the economy and increasing regional trade integration. |
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